OTTAWA — Liberal leader Justin Trudeau is walking an intentionally fine line following two high-profile expressions of support in recent weeks for the oil sands and the controversial Keystone XL pipeline.

The gamble is that Canadians are tired of the either-or positions adopted by the governing Conservatives and opposition NDP, and want a more middle-of-the-road policy in favour of oil sands development amid increased environmental protection.

But some are already lumping Trudeau with the Conservatives for speaking in favour of Keystone and the oil sands, threatening the narrative he is trying to establish for the Liberals as the party that can bridge the two extremes in the oil sands versus climate change debate.

It hasn’t helped that while he has spoken in favour of Keystone in Calgary and Washington over the past two weeks, Trudeau has provided little insight into his plans to address the oil sand’s environmental impact should the Liberals form government.

“If they would like to develop a more comprehensive approach to hydro-carbon extraction that addresses the environmental concerns, the environmental impacts, and addresses the climate change impacts…I think Canadian society would be very supportive of that,” said Environmental Defence Canada executive director Tim Gray. “But I have yet to see that.”

On Monday, Trudeau tweeted a picture of himself chatting with environmentalist David Suzuki after the two met at a Jewish event in Montreal the day before.

The picture came a few days after social website Buzzfeed published a spoof article last week entitled “10 Oil Spills that Look Like Justin Trudeau’s Hair” that features various pictures of the Liberal leader juxtapositioned against photos of oil spills.

The article was taken down without explanation shortly afterward, but has resurfaced on another website that is highly critical of Trudeau’s support for Keystone and the oil sands.

In a speech to the Calgary Petroleum Club last week, Trudeau said he supported Keystone XL because, “having examined the facts, and accepting the judgment of the National Energy Board, I believe it is in the national interest.”

“On balance, it would create jobs and growth, strengthen our ties with the world’s most important market, and generate wealth,” Trudeau said. “It would offer much needed flexibility to a constrained continental energy delivery system.

“Most of all, it is in keeping with what I believe is a fundamental role of the Government of Canada: to open up markets abroad for Canadian resources, and to help create responsible and sustainable ways to get those resources to those markets.”

Those comments came about a week after Trudeau told an audience at the Centre for American Progress in Washington that he was in favour of Keystone XL.

In contrast, Suzuki has been an outspoken critic of Keystone; the 77-year-old environmentalist was part of a delegation of Canadians who travelled to Washington on Oct. 11, where he spoke out against the pipeline project.

In both Calgary and Washington, Trudeau couched his support for the pipeline by maintaining the need for adequate environmental protections and action while taking aim at those who on the extreme ends of the issue.

“(Keystone) will not eliminate all of our economic problems, as its most ardent supporters suggest,” he said in Calgary. “Nor will it precipitate the end of the world as we know it, as its most vocal opponents contend.”

Several industry associations were reluctant to discuss Trudeau’s position Monday.

Gray said there is space for a more nuanced approach to oil sands development and the environment, and he would support any and all parties developing and adopting such a policy.

“But we’re just not really seeing that,” he said. “We’re seeing a lot of support for expansion of the tar sands and the pursuit of a strategy that overall is failing.”